Boys' Day Out
by T.W.Kidd
Summary: Kogoro is left in charge of Conan and, as always, danger finds them. Conan is targeted by human traffickers and Kogoro must find him before it's too late. No pairings. Rated T for brutality against Conan.
1. Chapter 1

"You're gonna be gone all weekend?" Conan repeated. Ran sighed.

"At the Karate Tournament. Don't you two ever listen to me?" She answered. She was packing clothes into a heavy duffle bag. Kogoro and Conan stood by, incredulous.

"I'm supposed to babysit this brat for two whole days?" Kogoro demanded.

"Hey!" Conan snapped back. _It's not like I wanna spend my free time with you, old man_. He thought.

"You two will be fine." She assured them "I have all your meals in the fridge. All you have to do is warm them up in the microwave. Oh!" She reached into her pocket and produced two small slips of paper. "And look! I got you both tickets to a baseball game. I thought you'd enjoy a boy's only weekend."

"Hey, right behind home plate!" Kogoro brightened looking at the tickets "Not bad!"

Ran smiled, pleased with herself. She zipped her bag and swung it over her shoulder. Conan found himself smiling. He wouldn't mind a baseball game, either. A car horn honked outside.

"That's my ride." She said "You two be good while I'm gone!"

"Well, good luck at your tournament." Kogoro said. She waved and trotted off down the stairs. The two watched her car pull away through the second floor windows. They looked sidelong at each other.

"Look here, bowtie." He said "I've got better things to do that chase you all day. Why don't you stay here and I'll find a nice young lady to take with me to this game." He straightened his tie and laughed.

Conan scowled.

"Fine, I'll just call up Ran and…" He grinned impishly. Kogoro growled at him.

"Alright, alright, I get it pipsqueak." He said. "Go get ready."

Conan smiled triumphantly and pulled his shoes onto his feet but at he was tying the laces, it broke in his hand.

"Bad luck." Kogoro said disinterestedly, looking down at him. "Just wear the other pair that Ran bought for you last week."

Conan hesitated. He didn't like going out without his gadgets. He still had his bowtie and his watch. He should be able to make-do in an emergency if he had to. After all, it was just a baseball game. They weren't going out on a case. Conan changed out his super sneakers for his other pair. Kogoro slipped into his own shoes.

They rode together in the back seat of a cab, Kogoro leaning against the door and watching the buildings fly by. Conan hadn't been to a baseball game in years. It would be fun to have an afternoon off. They pulled up in front of a busy stadium and Conan leapt out.

He was always amazed by how much bigger everything seemed from a child's eyes. The towering walls of the stadium, the jostling sea of people. He laughed in spite of himself. Kogoro appeared next to him as the cab drove off.

"Come on," He said "Let's go get our seats. First pitch in a few minutes."

They wrestled their way through the people. Unlike Ran, Kogoro did not hold Conan's hand so he often struggled to make a path and follow behind Kogoro. They stopped at the snack bar where Kogoro bought himself a beer. He sipped it as they walked, counting the sections until they found the right one. The climbed the concrete stairs and settled into their seats.

"Wow," Conan said admiringly "These are really great seats. Good job, Ran-Chan!"

"Yeah, you can see everything!" Kogoro agreed. He paused. "You know anything about baseball, kid?"

"My dad used to take me to games when I was little." Conan said nodded. Kogoro scowled. Conan realized his slip and quickly added "You know, when I was in kindergarten before I came to stay with you _Kogoro-ojisan_!"

The announcer began to bellow over the loudspeakers and their attentions turned to the field. It wasn't long before they were engrossed in the game, cheering and shouting . Kogoro bought several more beers and found himself in a very good mood by the sixth inning. He'd even bought Conan a sticky cotton candy from a vendor. As their team stole the lead, Kogoro and Conan leapt from their seats and cheered, waving their fists and stomping their feet. The player slid into home base.

"Oh boy," Kogoro said admiringly "What a game."

The man rose from the cloud of dust, beating his pants legs and chest. Conan lowered himself back into the uncomfortable stadium seat. Kogoro slowly followed suit, his eyes still fixed on the baseball diamond. Another man was sauntering up to bat. Without looking, Kogoro reaching into his coat and removed his wallet.

"Here," He said, waving it at Conan "Why don't you go buy us some hot dogs?"

"Sure." Conan took the wallet and leapt out of the seat. He shoved it into his pocket and began to climb the stairs back to the concession area. The sun was warm and pleasant. The baseball park brought back pleasant memories of his childhood. He reached the top of the stairs and took his place in the long queue formed at the hot dog vendor. He waited patiently, surrounded by mostly half-drunk men who rattled off statistics and gossip about the players of either team. No one seemed to notice him at all.

After almost a full fifteen minutes, it was his turn at the vendor. Barely able to reach the counter, he laid his bills down and called politely for two hot dogs. The vendor set out making them and asked him to step aside. When he did so, he bumped against the kneecap of a tall man. He looked to only be in his early twenties, maybe even late teens, but his face was sunken and slack. His eyes were deep set and rimmed by black rings. In contrast, his clothes looked new and well-cared for. He wore a cap for the opposing team. Conan took a step backwards.

"Sorry, _Onii-san_ , excuse me." Conan bowed slightly.

"No worries, _boya_." The man answered pleasantly. "Are you waiting here for your father? Or your mother?"

"No," Conan answered "I am just buying some food."

"I see," the man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Conan took another step backward from the man, feeling uncomfortable. The man's eyes followed him carefully. The vendor called out his order and Conan turned to take it from the counter. He suddenly felt the familiar tug of an adult pulling his collar and the painful weightlessness and pressure on his neck. For a moment, he was too stunned to cry out. He felt himself be pulled around a corner in a small alcove and dropped heavily on the ground.

"Hey, what's the idea!?" He shouted at the man but felt himself pushed against a wall by a second man who had been waiting in the shadows and fingers rummaging through his pockets. The man swiftly relieved him of Kogoro's wallet, his watch and anything that was hiding in his pockets.

"Nice watch, kid." The first man smirked. He slipped all his goods into his pocket, without checking them. He pushed Conan away and down to the ground. The two men towered over him. The second man, who looked much older than the first, reached down and tugged Conan to his feet by his hair. Conan cried out. The man struck him.

"Another noise out of you kid, and you'll see what happens." He growled. The first man glanced between them. Conan's face stung and pain radiated through his jaw. His ear rang loudly. The man had smacked him hard and without mercy. It obviously didn't matter to him that he was just a child.

"Let's get out of here." He said nervously "Before security comes around."

"We're taking him with us." The second man said.

"What? Why?" The first man demanded.

"This kid will make us more money than a few pickpockets at the ballgame." The second man said. He reached into his pockets and produced a roll of duct tape and a rag. He approached Conan. Conan made to bolt by the man grabbed him and easily overpowered him. He shoved the rag between Conan's teeth and taped it closed. He then taped Conan's wrists and ankles.

 _I can't get free_ , Conan thought desperately _I'm too weak!_

"Get the bag!" The second man growled, struggling with the writhing Conan. After a moment's hesitation, the younger man produced a duffle bag half full of their daily spoils. Conan tossed his head, doing the only thing he could think of in such a hopeless situation. His glasses flew off his face and clattered to the ground a few feet away. Then, Conan found himself shoved into the bag and zipped into hot, closed darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

As the seventh inning drew to a close, Kogoro became worried for Conan. The boy was apt to wander off but where could he have gone at a Baseball stadium? He growled and reluctantly left his seat, climbing grumpily towards concessions. He looked up and down the perpetually long line but didn't see the kid among the crowd. He popped into the men's restroom and didn't see his sneakers under any of the doors. Where in the world could he have disappeared to now?

Kogoro returned to the concessions line and bullied his way to the counter. He got the attention of the frazzled looking man running the booth.

"Hey, you see a kid come by here? Glasses? Bowtie? About half an hour ago?" He demanded. The man only shrugged.

"I see lots of kids." Was all he offered. Kogoro sighed and retreated. He scratched his head, the small seed of panic in his chest starting to bloom. Yeah, the little brat liked to wander off at crime scenes and play detective but this was different. What could have possibly drew his interest away from the game? He flagged down a nearby security officer.

"Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to have a lost child area, would you?" He asked, giving a small embarrassed laugh "You see, the little boy I take care seems to have run off."

"No problem, let me check." The man clicked on his radio and spoke into it "Any little boys in the security office?"

"Negative." Came the staticy voice "No one here."

"Sorry, sir. Do you have a description of the boy? We'll have our guys look around for him. Kids wander off all the time."

"Uh, yeah. About seven years old. Brown hair, blue eyes, big glasses, red bow tie. Real smart mouth, too." Kogoro said. "I'll keep looking."

With that, he left the man and wandered around the area near the concessions. He was peering back into a corner alcove when he spotted something on the ground. Leaning over, he realized they were Conan's glasses. He picked them up and realized once of the lenses wascracked. A bolt of true fear struck him. Conan wore his glasses to bed, for Christ's sake. He never took them off for any reason. Why were they here, broken, with Conan nowhere in sight? Kogoro ran back to the security guard.

"Something's happened!" He said urgently, "I need you to call an emergency search for Edogawa Conan. He might be hurt." The man followed this direction without hesitation. Kogoro tucked the glasses inside his breast pocket. Damn kid, where could he be?

Conan, by now, was already out of the stadium. Anytime he had begun to struggle within the duffle bag, the man had dropped it hard onto the ground. Eventually, he had no choice but to be still or risk a serious injury. He was tossed unceremoniously into a trunk (he heard the lid slam overhead) and was just pulling away from the stadium when Kogoro sounded the alarm. He felt and heard the car begin to move. He pulled against the duct tape but was unable to wrench free. He was sweating heavily now, the air thick and hard to breath.

 _Think, Shinichi!_ He cursed himself _Use your head. How do you get out of this? You don't have your sneakers or your stun watch but you still have your wits. You can think your way out of this one, if you just focus!_

Conan closed his eyes and presented himself with the evidence. One man had pickpocketed him when another decided to kidnap him. The older man carried tape and rags. He was prepared for this in a way that the younger man wasn't. Conan had dropped his glasses to cue his distress Kogoro but couldn't be sure how long it would take him to find them. He didn't know what direction they were headed or why. Because of the items in the bag with him rattling along with the movement of the car, he couldn't even hear noises outside of the trunk. The only thing, the _smartest_ thing, to do was to wait and see what happened next.

* * *

"There's no need to panic. Maybe he just went home early?" The chief security guard suggested as Kogoro berated him for his incompetence. They were doing searches all over the stadium as the eighth inning started. Kogoro hadn't seen him since he sent him away at the bottom of the sixth. He stormed out of the office. His phone began to ring in his coat pocket.

"Hello?" He said, answering the unknown number.

"Is this Detective Mouri Kogoro?" Asked a husky voice on the other end. He heard the sounds of traffic and the whoosh of someone driving with the window open.

"Yes." He replied, his mind still on the problem at hand.

"We have your son." The voice said, cutting hard through the phone noise.

"Son? I don't have a- Ah! Conan! You have Conan." Kogoro growled "Where are you? You made the wrong choice, buster. Do you know who I am?"

"We certainly do." The voice laughed "We'll call again in twenty minutes. If I even suspect you've called the police, you won't even be able to find pieces of the boy after I'm done with him." The phone line went dead.

* * *

Conan felt himself be thrown forward as the car came to a halt. He'd been jostled back and forth the entire ride. He felt dizzy, not sure how much air he had left in the small duffle bag. He heard the engine cut, the car doors slam and the trunk open. He was lifted, carried for a few minutes and then dropped onto another hard floor before the zipper above him opened. The rush of cool fresh air hit him. He breathed deep, feeling the wetness in his shirt where he'd sweated through the fabric. The two men stood over him.

"He doesn't look good. Is he okay?" The younger man said, chewing his nails.

"He's fine." The older man scoffed. "Get me some cable ties. He'll find a way out of this tape if we let him have enough time."

"I don't know, Norio…" The younger man was almost whining. _Norio_ , Conan told himself, committing the fact to memory. _That's him._ The older man was much dirtier than the younger man and unshaven for a few days at least. The stubble was salt and pepper gray. His fingernails were caked with dirt.

"Shut up, Gyukudo!" Norio shouted, balling his fists "You'll do as you're told! Now, go get me some damn ties!" Conan watched as the second man hustled out of the room. His eyes adjusting to the light now, he saw that he was in a ramshackle apartment or maybe a small shed. The windows were boarded over but bright afternoon sun filtered through the dusty air. There was trash littering the floor, a few pillows and nothing else. There were two closed doors into other parts of the building. Norio tugged him roughly out of the bag and inspected his wrists.

"Already trying." He laughed, seeing the twisted and strained tape. "It's no use. No one can get out of those cable ties. You just be a good boy and you'll be back with Mouri soon." Unable to speak through the gag, Conan glowered at the man.

Gyukudo returned with a handful of plastic ties and handed them to Norio. The old man proceeded to tighten them against Conan's skin, first at the wrists and then at the ankles. When he was done, he reached into his pocket, pulled a cellphone out and quickly dialed a number. Conan heard it ring once and then Kogoro's voice shouting over the earpiece.

"Alright, where's Conan?" He demanded before Norio spoke.

"He's right here, Mouri." Norio said "And I've got some demands."

"I'm not that dumb, I need proof of life before I give you another second of my very precious time." Kogoro said coldly. Conan was impressed.

"I'll text you a photo." Norio said offhandedly. "Now-"

"Not good enough!" Kogoro interrupted. "You know as well as I do that a photo doesn't prove anything. Breathing isn't gonna cut it either. I better hear the little brat's voice." For the first time, anger crossed Norio's face. Gyukudo cowered in the corner. Norio leaned close to Conan. He smelled sour, as if he hadn't bathed in days. He reached into his waistband and produced a revolver.

"Try anything funny." He dared. Then he reached up and ripped the tape from Conan's face, taking skin with it and yanked the rag from his mouth.

" _Ouijisan!_ " Conan shouted quickly "Code 9! Code 5! 10-19, 35,32. Bravo. Lima. Delta. Golf. Char- " Norio leapt forward and grabbed Conan by the hair, making him cry out, and quickly disconnected the call.

"You little brat!" Norio shouted, shoving the rag back into Conan's mouth.

"What was that he was saying?" Gyukudo asked frantically. "What was he shouting?"

"That's police jargon!" Norio growled "Little Bastard thinks he's smart."

 _Smarter than you,_ Conan thought triumphantly _I gave Kogoro more than enough to start his investigation. I'm counting on you, Ojisan._

Conan shifted on the floor, bruises already forming his rough treatment. Gyukudo stepped forward towards him uncertainly. Norio kicked him violently in the stomach.

"Hey, stop!" Gyokudo stepped towards them. "I don't feel right about this, man." He said. Conan looked up at him. He was nothing but a teenager after all.

"Quite whining," Norio said "Do you know how much money we stand to make?"

"Does a private detective really have that much money for ransom?" Gyukudo asked. Norio scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Get this thing away from me." He said. Gyokudo gingerly lifted Conan off the ground and into his arms.

"Whatever you say, Norio."

* * *

Kogoro heard Conan's voice then a scream and the line went dead.

"Conan? Conan? Hello?" Kogoro shouted into the phone but it did no good. He tried to dial the number back but got no answer. It went straight to voicemail, meaning the phone had been turned off. He thought about the numbers Conan shouted. Something rattled in the distant parts of his memory. He knew what those numbers meant. He just couldn't place his finger on it. His old days at the police academy came back to him. He retrieved his notebook and quickly scrawled the numbers down.

"Damn." He said aloud, it had been so long. _Code 5,_ he thought, _that one I definitely know. I got stuck with it all the time. Code 5 is surveillance detail. What help is that?_

Kogoro lit a cigarette and puffed on it moodily, trying to clear his head. He tilted his head back and blew out a long stream of smoke. Something was looking back at him. It was a small static camera. A surveillance camera. Kogoro dropped his cigarette and rushed back towards the security office.


	3. Chapter 3

Gyokudo opened one of the doors and revealed a second bare room, windows also boarded. On the floor was litter beer cans, paper trash, cigarette buds and a few more threadbare floor pillows. This room was much dirtier than the other. He set Conan down on one of the pillows and arranged him so that he was sitting up.

"I'm sorry, _boya_." He said quietly without meeting his eye. "Norio has a bad temper." Conan focused hard on forcing air back into his lungs. _You can say that again_ , he thought bitterly. Gyokudo looked at him.

"I have a little brother about your age." He said sadly "I don't want you to get hurt. If I take this gag out, will you promise to be quiet?" Conan nodded. Gyokudo removed the rag from Conan's mouth for the second time. His jaw ached.

"Thank you for not shouting." Gyokudo managed a small smile at him. Conan furrowed his brow. This guy didn't seem at all like the kidnapping type. He acted like he didn't even want to be involved. Conan thought he'd be able to convince Gyokudo to help him.

"Onii-chan," He said, purposely injecting childish fear into his voice. "What's going to happen to me? I want to go home." Gyokudo began to chew his nails again.

"Just be quiet," He pleaded "Norio isn't that bad of a guy. Just do what he says and he won't get so angry. I promise." He shifted back and forth, looking nervously around the room, even though they were obviously very alone in here.

"Where am I?" Conan asked.

"Don't worry, it's safe here. This is where Norio and I stay sometimes." He answered.

 _Yeah, safe like a lion's den._ Conan thought to himself. Gyokudo reached out and began to smooth Conan's hair, like a doting big brother would do to a frightened sibling, straightening his little blue coat and brushed away the dust he'd gathered on himself while writing on the floor. Conan realized that Gyokudo was trying to comfort him.

"Why don't I try to get you some food?" He said "You must be hungry." He reached for the makeshift gag.

"Please don't!" Conan said, moving away from him "I promise I'll be quiet." Gyokudo hesitated. Conan added "I really really promise, Onii-san. I'll be good."

"Okay. But please remember how angry Norio gets. I don't want to get in trouble." He said finally and discarded the rag. "Let me find you some lunch."

He stood up and left the room. Conan waited until he left the room and listened to the sound of his feet as he moved away from the door. The shed was small and both men were still in their street shoes, making tracking their movements on the other side of the door pretty easy. Now that Conan was alone, he could really get to work.

* * *

Kogoro shouted his way back into the security office, and demanded to see any and all surveillance tapes from his area of the stadium.

"We only keep cameras on the registers," The man told him "And in the players' area. I'll get you what I can from the concession area."

"Well, be quick about it!" Kogoro snapped. The man disappeared from the office with a promise to return as quickly as possible. Kogoro lit another cigarette. If there was surveillance at the concession stand, there's a good chance that there was an image of the man that took Conan. It would be a good start. His pulled his notebook and looked at the numbers again. If Code 5 meant surveillance, what did the other ones mean? He had an old textbook from the police academy back at the apartment but that would take him forty-five minutes to retrieve. He considered calling the police.

 _What's the first thing you always ask your clients_ He berated himself silently _"Have you called the police"? Now, here I am, and I should call the police._

The man's gruff voice came back to him. _If I even suspect you've called the police, you won't even be able to find pieces of the boy…_ the threat rang clear in his head. That didn't sound like a man with a bluff. It wasn't worth the risk. _Bah! Who needs the police!? I am the great detective Mouri Kogoro. The police call me!_ The security guard returned with another man. They sat and the computer on the security desk. After some rapid typing, they produced the image Kogoro wanted.

"That's the food court at the bottom of the sixth." He said, pointing at the screen.

"There's Conan!"Kogoro pointed at the small figure in the bottom of the screen. "Play it at double speed."

So they watched. They watched Conan approach the counter. They watched his interaction with the man in the baseball cap, his face obscured from view. His heart fell into his stomach as he watched the man swifty and expertly drag Conan into an alcove that was hidden from the camera. Then they all watched as the two men nonchalantly carried a large duffle bag among the crowd, no one the wiser.

"That's gotta be where Conan is." Kogoro said, tapping the screen. "That's how they got him out of the stadium."

Once, before they left camera view, the man clumsily dropped the bag hard onto the concrete stadium flooring. Kogoro fumed with rage.

The security man showed him the image of the front gates, where the next closest camera was poised. The two men walked out of the ballpark and into a cab without once being stopped or questioned. Kogoro pounded his fist on the table. No shot of the license plate, no clear shot of either of their faces….He thought more about the phone calls.

The first call came while the man was driving. That much was obvious from the background noise. But when he called the second time, there was no background noise at all. Where in the city could a person go where there was no background noise? He pulled his notebook from his pocket.

 _Code 9-_

 _Code 5- Surveillance_

 _10-19_

 _35_

 _32_

 _BLDGC_

He read to himself. He thought a moment. A 10-19 meant "arrived on scene" (he scribbled that down) but the other two numbers were nonsense. Along with the letters. They meant nothing to him at all. He tried to remember being a police officer. He would talk into the radio attached to his shoulder. He reached up now, miming the action.

 _10-19_ He'd call to dispatch as he stepped from his car. Then what would he say? He'd give an all clear, usually. Afterwards, he'd sit in his car, writing onto endless carbon copies. Every time he was sent anywhere, he had to file a report. He filled out the same boxes, over and over. Badge number, day, month, year and… _10-35_ , he'd call over the radio "Time check." The last two numbers weren't stand alone numbers, they were the last half of 10-codes.

But what was 10-32? The memories slowly came back to him. He remembered how to call in a fight, a lost child, a drunk driver…those were the most commonly used codes. He used them nearly every day. When had he ever used 10-32… What could it-

 _10-32! 10-32!_ He remembered now. Not him calling over the radio but the transmission coming to him as he and Megure ran into an active scene. Megure grabbed him by the arm to stop him and unholstered his weapon. Kogoro did the same. A 10-32 was a suspect with a gun.

So that's what the brat was trying to get to him. The men were armed. Conan had arrived on scene with the armed men. Time check? Kogoro opened his phone and looked at the time code of the last call. He'd arrived on scene as they made the call. The kid was creating a perimeter. He compared the time on the call to the one on the video tape.

They were seen leaving the ballpark at 1pm and the last call came in at 1:28. He was no more than a half hour away from the stadium. He closed his eyes and thought. Where in the world, only 30 minutes from a stadium, could Conan be where there was no noise? He opened the GPS feature of his phone. The nearby neighborhoods were all business. There would surely be the sounds of people. Then, just on the edge of the perimeter, he saw it. It had to be where Conan was. He tucked the phone back into his pocket and left the stadium, shouting for a cab.

It wasn't noted on the gps map but Kogoro knew. There was a public train depot that had gone out of use about a year ago. Now it was all abandoned. Separate from the highway, devoid of people…it was the only place that Conan could be. He slipped into the cab and gave curt directions to the driver while staring at the last puzzle on his paper.

 _B-L-D-G-C?_


	4. Chapter 4

Conan, left alone in the dim and dusty room, considered his options. He could break the ties and try for an escape when Gyokudo returned. He could try to signal for help through the boarded window by shouting. He could even use his bowtie to amplify his voice. Neither plan appealed to him, since Norio didn't seem the type to be conservative with bullets if challenged. He could simply wait for Kogoro to arrive.

He inspected the ties on his ankles. They were pretty thin, like the type people used to in the house, not the industrial type that police officers used. He maneuvered his arms under his legs so that they no longer behind him. He pulled the tie around his ankle until it was tightened as far as it would do. The, with a quick jerk of his knee, the fastener popped and his legs were free. Using his teeth to tighten the ties on his wrist, he repeated the process to free his hands. _1_

 _Amateurs_ , he thought. _Freeing myself from restraints was one of the first tricks I taught myself as a detective._

He looked at the trash on the floor. Mostly food trash and receipts. The receipts were from convenience stores and, from what he could read, were mostly just the same purchases of a soda pop and a cup of noodles. There was nothing he could see to use for leverage. He heard footsteps coming toward the door. He arranged his arms and feet to seem as if he were still restrained.

Just as Kogoro was stepping into his cab, Gyokudo entered Conan's room carrying a dirty Styrofoam cup.

"I brought you some juice." He said, "It's all we had." He put the cup to Conan's lips. Conan took a drink but coughed involuntarily and spit most of it back out. The sickly sweet drink tasted like rancid candy. Did kids really drink this junk?

"What's wrong?" Gyokudo asked, concerned. Conan wiped his mouth on his shoulder.

" _Onii-san_ ," Conan whined. He knew that if he could convince Gyokudo to help him, he'd have a better chance getting away from Norio. "I have a secret. Promise you won't tell?"

"Of course not. We're friends aren't we?" Conan lifted his hands above his head.

"Tah-dah!" He said innocently "Just like a magician."

"How'd you do that?" Gyokudo asked "If Norio finds out, he won't be happy."

"You're not going to tell him, are you _Onii-san_?" Conan emphasized his childish trust. Everything hinged on Gyokudo being persuaded to do the right thing. If Conan could just keep emphasizing his feelings for his own little brother, he should fall for it.

"No, of course not. Like I said, we're friends now. I just want to keep you safe. So this has to be our little secret, okay?" Gyokudo gave him the cup. Conan took it but did not drink.

"When will I be going home, _Onii-san_?" Conan asked.

"As soon as Mouri brings Norio his money. I promise I won't let you get hurt, okay?" Gyokudo began to chew his nails nervously. "I'm gonna go talk to Norio. You stay here. Be a good boy, okay?"

"Okay, _Onii-san_." Conan watched him retreat. He heard the door lock. He rushed to the door and pressed his ear to the wood.

"What's gonna happen when Mouri gets here?" One of the men asked. They spoke so low that it was impossible to tell which one.

"We'll take the money and we'll shoot him." The other answered offhandedly.

"What about the kid?"

"We'll crate him up and ship him overseas with the others. One bullet, two paychecks."

"What's gonna happen to him?"

"Use your imagination."

There was a long heavy pause. _So that's the plan,_ Conan realized _Kogoro is walking right into a trap. And I led him here! How could I be so stupid?_

Conan grit his teeth. It didn't make any sense. One minute they seemed like bumbling buffoons, allowing him to speak on the phone or leaving him in this room unattended, but the next minute they ran like an expert syndicate, prepared to hold and transport kids overseas! What was he missing? He picked up one of the papers at his feet, planning to try and use it to pass a note to Kogoro when he arrived.

 _1-Soda, 1-noodles, 1-6-pack,_ it read. Just one? Didn't Gyokudo and Norio stay here together? The truth suddenly hit Conan. _Of course! That's it. It has to be._

"Alright, Norio," came a voice that must have been Gyokudo, drawing his attention back to the door. "Call the old man up. Make your demands. Then we'll head to the hand-off spot." Conan could only hear Norio's voice.

"Pay attention… No, not after the stunt he pulled last time…You'll just have to trust me…I want $100,000 and I want it in a hour…I don't care how you get it, just find a way…I'll call you in an hour with more instructions…" There was silence again. The footsteps approaching his door. Gyokudo entered. Conan balled his fists.

"Listen, we've go to okay?" He said kindly, extending his hand for Conan to take.

"Let me guess," Conan answered, pushing his hands into his pockets. "You'll keep me safe, right?"

"I will." Gyokudo promised. Conan scoffed.

"Good Cop/Bad Cop is the oldest trick in the book, ' _Onii-san_.' I'm amazed I didn't catch it earlier." Conan scowled "Norio is just a patsy. A drifter or fugitive. You groom children, make them trust you, use your kindness as a weapon against them. Once they think you're their friend you can get them to do anything. You can take them anywhere and they won't make a fuss. Taking the gag off, leaving me alone in the room, letting me speak to Kogoro...All carefully calculated to make me trust you."

"W-What are you talking about?" Gyokudo's brow furrowed. Conan saw anger in his gaze. It didn't frighten him.

"These food receipts are all for one person." He said "Norio was squatting here long before he met you. Whoever stays here isn't buying for two. You wore an out of town team cap at the game. I should have seen it. How many places do you travel to? How many children can you pick up in a weekend? How nice do you have to be before they climb quietly into your getaway car? That's where Norio is now, isn't he? Getting the car." Gyokudo scowled fully now. Conan knew he was right.

"You forget, brat." He growled "There's more than one way to make a child be quiet." He pulled the gun from his pocket. The same one Norio held earlier. Conan didn't flinch as he trained the barrel at his chest.

"You'll do as you're told. Let's go." He said. Conan didn't move. Gyokudo swung the gun and pulled the trigger, the explosive bang filling the room and the bullet buried itself in the wall of the shack. Conan ducked, his ears ringing. He tumbled to the floor. Gyokudo grabbed him by the collar and shouted at him, so that he could hear him.

"That's your only warning shot. And I don't take like to chances. Time to drink your juice." He turned and shouted through the open door for Norio to come help him. Norio appeared and wrapped his large arms around Conan. Gyokudo plugged Conan's nose and pulled a medicine bottle from his pocket. He stuck the neck of the bottle in Conan's mouth and he tasted that same sickly sweet liquid. It was diphenhydramine, a cheap over the counter sleeping potion for kids.

Conan struggled against the men, managing to spill the medicine down his shirt. Gyokudo grabbed his throat and holding his jaw closed around the bottle. Conan coughed and gagged, drowning in the nauseating liquid. Finally, the empty bottle was pulled away with most of it having gone down his throat. Norio dropped him. Conan coughed, feeling the syrup erupt out of his nose and coating his throat. Gyokudo crouched next to him. He slammed his first once, twice, into Conan's cheek, laughing.

"You should have just been my friend, kid." He said.


	5. Chapter 5

Kogoro's phone rang in his pocket again about five minutes after he started his cab ride. He answered it immediately.

"Hello?" He demanded.

"Pay Attention," said the voice on the other end. Still silent in the background. That meant that they were probably in the same place as when they last called.

"Alright, before I do anything, let's have the proof. Let me hear Conan."

"No, not after the stunt he pulled last time."

"Well, how am I supposed to know he's alive?"

"You'll just have to trust me." The man chortled darkly. "I want $100,000 and I want it in an hour."

"What? How much money do you think I have? Where am I supposed to find $100,000 in one hour? That's more than I make in a year!" Kogoro fumed.

"I don't care how you get it, just find a way!" The man threatened. "I'll call you in an hour with more instructions." The phone line disengaged. Kogoro growled and pushed the phone back into his pocket. His muscle tensed, he hated sitting in his car. He needed to be at that train station now but there was no way to move faster. Luckily, since the game hadn't ended yet, the traffic around the stadium wasn't too terrible. The drive moved at the speed limit without congestion.

The train depot had to have plenty of spots to hide. He had his money on one of the abandoned train cars. Or maybe the dispatch terminal. The men, at least one of them, was armed while Kogoro was going in blind. Without hearing Conan's voice over the phone, he had no way of being sure the little brat was still alive at all.

* * *

Gyokudo lifted Conan by the arm and started tugging him out of the room, holding both of Conan's wrists in his hand. Conan kicked and pulled away from him but was simply no match for the adult's brute strength. His ears were still ringing from the bullet, making the noises around him muffled and muted. He felt blood starting to seep out of his nose. He knew he had no more than a half an hour before the medication over took him, maybe less since he'd been dosed with so much of it. He had to find a way to tell Kogoro is was a trap. He had to warn him.

Gyokduo pulled Conan outside. He squeezed his eyes shut against the bright sun and turned his face away. He'd been too long in the darkened room. His eye watered and burned as he tried to force them to adjust. If he could see where he was, he'd have some clue as to how to get away.

"Come on!" Gyokudo growled at Norio "Change of plans. Forget about Mouri, it's too much trouble let's get this kid shipped off. My clients will pay plenty for him. We can split that."

"Forget about Mouri?" Norio repeated, "Getting rid of Mouri is more important than your payday." Norio reached out and grabbed Conan away from Gyokudo.

"Listen here, old man!" Gyokudo shouted "I brought you in on this deal because you're a local but I can throw you right back out!" Suddenly, the two men were squabbling and tugging Conan between them. They yanked painfully on his arms and jostled him roughly, as if he weren't a living breathing boy between them.

"I'm taking that dumb flatfoot out and I need this kid for bait! After I get through with that sleeping gorilla, you can do whatever you want with him." Norio growled.

"What's your problem?" Gyokudo demanded, finally managing to wrench Conan away from Norio. "This was never supposed to be a ransom deal. You're the one who suggested it. I went along at first but it fell apart. It's time to cut your losses!"

"I'm gonna get that man, Gyokudo. That bastard and his kids are all over TV and the papers every day and I'm damn sick of it. He's had this coming to him for a long time. You're not gonna stop me, now."

 _Of course,_ Conan realized _Gyokudo is part of a larger smuggling ring_. _He recruited Norio. He's just a small time crook with the local knowledge that Gyokudo needed. Norio recognized me and decided to enact some street vigilantism._

His vision began to clear as the men continued arguing more and more violently. Looking around, he recognized that part of town he was in but not exactly where he was. The ground was dirt and gravel. The shed they'd just left had "condemned" signs posted over the boarded windows. A single placard hung affixed to the door. It said "Maintenance." There were railroad tracks running along the ground. Conan didn't know of a railroad through this part of town.

He desperately searched for more clues to pinpoint his position. There was an old car running not too far from them. It must be their getaway car. It was idling, the driver door open where Norio had exited. The floor was litter heavily with the same sort of paper and trash as the room Conan had been inside. They were on some sort of compound but for what? He couldn't think of anything this deep in the downtown district that would use a compound.

Both men were becoming more agitated, Gyokudo insisting they leave and Norio insisting they stay. They were growing red faced, shouting and tossing their arms in argument. Gyokudo still firmly held onto Conan's wrists. Even among all this, Conan felt himself yawn. The medication was starting to take effect.

 _No!_ Conan thought desperately _If I fall asleep, I'm done for! One last chance…_

Opening his mouth, Conan sunk his teeth deep into Gyokudo's hand.

* * *

Kogoro pulled up to train station. He stepped out of the cab and looked around. It was bigger than he remembered. Of course, this was the main terminal. Beyond this were miles of outsheds, miles of unused tracks…where in the world could he start? He looked at one of the informational signs that mapped the routes and stations. Each little square labeled and color coded among a maze of tracks. Blue rectangles for train stops, yellow triangles to indicate road crossings and a few small green squares labeled "MAINT. BLDG."

 _B-L-D-G!_ Kogoro finally understood, shorthand for Building. Conan hadn't been able to finish his message. _BLDGCK_ was a police report shorthand for doing a building check. Conan was trying to tell Kogoro that he was inside a building.

"Hey!" The Cab driver shouted, jumping from the driver seat "You gotta pay, buddy!" Kogoro reached for his wallet when both men heard the tell-tale sounds of gun fire. _Bang-bang-bang_. Three in rapid succession.

"Was that-?" The driver asked nervously. Kogoro couldn't wait any longer, he didn't have time to waste.

"Go call the police!" He ordered the cab driver and pushed his way into the driver seat. Conan was in a building far enough from the terminal and main roads that there was no ambient noise. He slammed the door to the driver's protests and pushed into the gas pedal. That meant he had to be at one of the other terminals or one of the outbuildings, within at least a mile judging from the sound of the gunshots.


	6. Chapter 6

Conan fled from Gyokudo, following the car tracks in the dirt. Where ever that car had come from was his best chance of finding someone who could help him. He struggled to breath, his footing unsure on the loose gravel.

 _BANG-BANG-BANG_

Conan covered his head and didn't stop running.

 _BANG_

Dirt and rocks flew up, stinging Conan's bare legs. He ducked quickly behind a small electrical box and tried hard to catch his breath. The medication was suppressing his breathing. His legs felt heavy and hard to move.

 _BANG_

The sound of the bullet striking the metal that shielded him made Conan acutely aware of how close he was to not making it out this time. He heard footsteps and saw Gyokudo's face appear, splattered with blood. He had evidently solved his problem with Norio. He trained his gun onto Conan again but the sound of a car made them both look.

A city taxi was barreling towards both of them. Gyokudo aimed toward the car.

 _BANG-BANG_

He fired two rounds and the cab swerved, coming to a skidding stop about a hundred meters away. The driver's side door opened and Kogoro's booming voice came through the air. He was crouching behind the door, to shield himself from the bullets.

"Game's up!" He shouted authoritatively "Hand the kid over and surrender."

Gyokudo grabbed Conan by the arm and, without answer, fled.

"Kogoro!" Conan cried, his words feeling thick. Gyokudo was nearly dragging him, his feet unresponsive and unwilling to moved. His vision was beginning to haze over and he couldn't think straight. Kogoro peered around the door was immediately began to pursue.

Conan felt himself being thrown into Gyokudo's vehicle and heard the door slam shut. The car began to move.

 _No!_ He thought, _I'm not letting you get away now!_ Clambering drunkenly clambered over the seats and, with whatever command of his strength he had left, pulled the emergency hand brake, making the car skid along the gravel and throw him forward. Gyokudo retrieved his gun.

"More damn trouble than you're worth!" He shouted and, pushing the gun barrel into Conan's forehead, pulled the trigger.

C _lick._

 _Click-Click-Click._

"Dammit!" Gyokudo shouted. He threw the useless pistol to the floor and grabbed Conan by the shirt collar. Conan was nearly unconscious. Desperate, he dropped Conan's listless body into the back seat and extracted a book of matches from his pocket. He rapidly lit one and after another, dropping them on the paper trash on the floor of the car. The greasy food wrappings took to flame almost immediately.

"Get out of the car!" Conan heard Kogoro's voice again, muffled by the car. He must have caught up to them. Smoke began to curl up around his face. Gyokudo stepped out, pushed the door lock down and shut the car door behind him. There were voices and noises outside the car door. Conan couldn't move. He couldn't even call out.

 _Kogoro…_ He though desperately _I'm right here. Please hurry._

"Conan! Conan!" Kogoro's voice said and Conan heard pounding. He saw the orange flames begin to crawl up the upholstered seat in front of him.

Conan's eyes closed and everything turned black.

* * *

The first thing he was aware of was pain. It radiated through his sinuses and forehead and throat. He heard a woman's voice speaking to him.

 _Ran?_

"Hey there, come on champ, open your eyes for me." Said the voice, much older than Ran's. Conan struggled but followed her instruction. He opened his eyes a bright light and an old woman's face. He grimaced and closed them again.

"Good job, little guy." She cooed "You're doing so well."

Sensations started returning to Conan. He felt that he was lying on his back. He was sore all over. He smelled latex and disinfectant. He was cold. He heard the woman speak again.

"He's very tired, poor thing's been through a lot."

Everything went black again.

* * *

The next time Conan woke, he was more alert. The room was dark, except for the blinking screens to his left. He looked at them, quickly interpreting the data. It was a simple heartrate and oxygen monitor. He tried to sit up and his stiff body almost refused. He pushed himself through the pain and looked around the dark room.

He was in a hospital. Whatever had happened, Kogoro had gotten him out. Now what? Where was Kogoro? What happened to Gyokudo? What happened to the overseas shipment he kept talking about? Conan rubbed his head. He noticed an IV tucked into the back of his hand. How long had he been out?

"Oh, you're up!" A nurse walked in.

"Yes, _Oba-san_." He said politely, his voice coming out rough and painful. "What time is it?"

"It's almost midnight," She scolded him gently "You should be getting your rest. You've had a very hard time."

"Where's _Mouri-no-otchan_?" He asked. The woman smiled sadly. She patted his head.

"Just get some sleep," She said. She began to wordless check his machines and the tub coming from his hand. Conan laid back. He was scared to think what that might mean. Exhaustion overtook him and he was quickly asleep again.

The next thing that woke Conan was a bright light. He grimaced a little. The pain in his sinus and throat had gone down a little. He turned his face away from the light.

"I think he's waking up." Said a rough male voice. Megure? Conan shielded his eyes.

"Close the blinds," Said another familiar voice. The nurse from last night. The room dimmed and Conan opened his eyes. He saw Megure's face looming over him, the nurse standing next to him. They both smiled.

"Hey!" Megure said, smiling with relief, "Another close call. I'm gonna have to tell Ran-kun to start keeping you on a shorter leash!"

"Hi, Megure-keibu." Conan rasped. The nurses produced a small cup of water that he drank thankfully. He looked around and spotted Kogoro sitting moodily at the window, looking outside. He fiddled with a pack of cigarettes. Conan saw he had his own bandages across his cheek and his right hand.

" _Ojisan_!" Conan called, genuinely happy. The old man had made it after all. A sudden realization hit him. He grabbed Megure's sleeve. "Megure-keibu _,_ listen! The man who took me, he took other children, too. You have to find them! He said he was going—"

"Calm down, calm down." Megure said soothingly "We've already got it all handled, kid. Mouri already brought him in and we were able to get the details of his deals from him. We stopped the illegal barge last night, and all the children have been returned home. We booked him on murder, kidnapping, human trafficking, and your attempted murder. He's gonna go away for a long time. "

"Good." Conan sighed, lying back again.

"Oh! And he had these on him. We figured you'd like them back." Megure fished around his coat pocket and produced Conan's watch and Kogoro's wallet. Conan took them both with thanks. Kogoro stood now. He snatched the wallet from Conan.

"Don't get any ideas, freeloader," He scoffed "You're parents better be willing to pay up for this hospital bill. I'm not made of money, you know!"

"I'm sure they will." Conan said hastily. _Boy, they are not going to be happy when I have to tell them I ended up in the hospital…again._

"They had to pump your stomach to get those meds out of you." Kogoro said, tucking his wallet into his pocket "You're all bruised up, too but I don't want to hear any whining because the doctors said you'll be just fine." He dropped back into his chair by the window, his arms crossed.

 _Well, I'm drowning in your compassion._ Conan thought, rolling his eyes. _What else should I have expected from him?_

* * *

Kogoro had stumbled across Norio's body, full of bullets, just as Gyokudo pulled away with Conna. Kogoro had caught up to Gyokudo when the car skidded to a stop. He saw him, through the rear window, push the gun into Conan's head, saw him throw Conan's limp body into the back seat. He arrived at the car and shouted for the man to get out. Gyokudo stepped out. Kogoro tugged at the back door and found it locked. He saw the flames beginning to rise besides Conan's tiny, still form.

"Open it." Kogoro demanded. Gyokudo rushed Kogoro, grabbing him hard around the throat. Kogoro swiftly buried his heel into the man's stomach, grabbed his upper arms then and was able to toss him over and behind him. This _tomoe-nage_ allowed Kogoro to gain the upper hand, pinning Gyokudo's arm hard behind his back.

"Give me the keys!" He demanded.

"Let me go!" He shouted back, spit making mud on his face. "Get off me, you son of a bitch!" Each second that ticked away was another second that Conan was inhaling smoke and the flames were creeping closer to him. Kogoro heard sirens in the distance but he couldn't wait for them. Gyokudo wasn't struggling, aware of how easily Kogoro might break his arm. Kogoro couldn't let him go, couldn't just let him get away. He thought frantically. Finally, he pulled his leather belt off and used it to secure Gyokudo's arms behind his back. That should hold him until the police arrived.

He rose, leaving Gyodkuo writhing unsuccessfully on the ground. He saw that he wasn't lying. The keys were laying on the driver's seat.

"Conan! Conan!" Kogoro cried, banging on the window. Conan didn't move.

Kogoro leapt onto the hood of the car and began to kick the windshield. Spiderwebbed cracks bloomed under his feet, he kicked more furiously. Finally, the window seal gave and the windshield fell into the car. The smoke began to pour over Kogoro's face. The flames, encouraged by new oxygen, began to climb. Kogoro pulled his coat off and crawled into the car. He cut his hand leaning across the windshield.

He threw the coat over Conan, protecting him from the glass and the flames, and began to pull him back through the open windshield. When he emerged from the vehicle, he saw Megure holding Gyokudo in handcuffs and officers rushing towards him. They pulled him roughly away from the vehicle. He clutched the boy to his chest.

"What are you doing?" The demanded "You can't just climb into a burning car! Someone, call the fire department." Kogoro pulled away from them.

"Call an ambulance!" He demanded, "Conan needs medical attention right away. I think he's been drugged."

"Drugged?" Megure repeated as the police frantically began radioing for their fellow emergency responders.

"He's unconscious. And I don't think Conan's the only one." Kogoro said quickly "This guy was taking him somewhere. I think there's a bigger game than just trying to get some ransom money."

"What makes you say that?" Megure asked.

"These guys moved quick and efficient. If Conan hadn't gotten a message through to me, they probably would have been long gone once I delivered the ransom."

"ETA on the ambulance is two minutes, we'll take care of him." Megure told him.

Kogoro was still clutching the small body to his chest. He moved the coat off of Conan's face. The boy was breathing but unresponsive. Dried blood left a trail from his nose to his chin, his eyes swelling with bruising. Kogoro laid his hand on Conan's cheek.

He was alive. Kogoro felt himself beginning to cry. He hugged the boy close to him. Thank God, he was alive.


	7. Epilogue

Conan was cleared to be released once they saw that his system was cleared of the medication. Megure offered to give them a ride home. Stepping out of the hospital, Kogoro lit a long-desired cigarette. He breathed deeply and blew out a long stream of white smoke. _Same old Kogoro_ , Conan thought.

They pulled up to the apartment only to see Ran waiting for them outside. She was clutching her hands nervously. She ran over to them as they climbed out of the car, followed by Megure. She looked up at her father.

"Megure called me at the tournament, I came home early," She said quickly "He told me everything."

"Now, now, Ran, everything is fine. We're both okay it was no big—" Kogoro started.

"Fine!?" She shouted, anger erupting out of her "I can't send you two knuckleheads to a baseball game without you getting tangled up in some criminal activity? I am gone one day and you both end up in the hospital! If I had my way—" She went on in the vein for several minutes while Conan and Kogoro apologized contritely, bowing low on the sidewalk to the screaming teenager, much to the amusement of passers-by.

"Now, now, Ran-kun." Megure said "You should be proud. Conan-kun used police radio codes to outsmart the kidnappers and signal Mouri-kun his location. They helped get a dangerous criminal off the street."

"Police code?" Ran repeated "How do you know police code?"

"Uh—From _Ojisan_! He's so smart, I learn all kinds of things from him." Conan said.

"Hey, that reminds me," Kogoro said, stroking his chin, "What is a Code 9? That's one part I never figured out."

"Eh? A Code 9 is a coded message being sent over the airwaves. Usually only the SWAT guys use that one." Megure interjected.

"I don't remember that." Kogoro told him.

"It was just put into use about a year ago. After your already left the force." He said.

"After I left the force. So how could you learn that one, brat?" Kogoro demanded. The three adults leered suspiciously down at him.

"Megure-keibu must of told me, yeah! That's it!" Conan stepped backwards.

"Megure isn't on the SWAT team." Ran said dangerously. Conan bolted for the building.

"Wow, I'm so tired, I think I'm gonna go to bed. Goodnight everyone!" He clambered up the stairs.

"Edogawa Conan, you answer the question!" Ran shouted up after him "Don't you run away from me!"

 _Geez,_ he thought, _And I thought the kidnappers were scary!_


End file.
